Research Summary

Dr. Yan Li joined UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging as an Assistant Professor in March 2019. Dr. Li received her medical degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, Master of Science in Biochemistry from McGill University in Canada, and PhD from the UCSF/UC Berkeley Joint Graduate Program in Bioengineering. Before accepting current position, she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Sarah Nelson as a post-doctoral fellow and later as an assistant research scientist.

Dr. Yan Li’s research focuses on developing methods for obtaining reliable metabolic information from the brain in order to characterize spatial and temporal heterogeneity and the biologic behavior during disease time for brain tumors, psychiatric and neurologic diseases. This includes the development of new methods for obtaining whole brain metabolites and tools for generating metrics of brain neurotransmitters using 3T and 7T MR scanners, implementation of statistical methods to relate metabolic metrics to clinical outcome or measures, and integrating steady state 1H metabolic imaging with PET, hyperpolarized 13C and advanced MR imaging parameters in order to elucidate the underlying normal and abnormal biological process.

Research Funding

  • July 15, 2017 - June 30, 2019 - Simultaneous multi-slice GABA-edited MRSI in the developing brain, Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21HD092660
  • July 15, 2017 - June 30, 2019 - Simultaneous multi-slice GABA-edited MRSI in the developing brain, Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21HD092660
  • July 15, 2017 - June 30, 2019 - Simultaneous multi-slice GABA-edited MRSI in the developing brain, Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21HD092660
  • July 15, 2017 - June 30, 2019 - Simultaneous multi-slice GABA-edited MRSI in the developing brain, Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21HD092660

Education

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, MD/BM, 08/2002, Clinical Medicine
McGill University, QC, Canada, MS, 10/2004, Biochemistry
UC Berkeley/UCSF, CA, USA, PhD, 06/2008, Bioengineer

Honors & Awards

  • 2002-2003
    Graduate Studies Fellowship, McGill
  • 2004-2005
    Graduate Dean Fellowship, UCSF
  • 2007
    Graduate Student Research Award, UCSF
  • 2007-2008
    Krevans Graduate Research Fellowship, UCSF
    • 2008
    Margaret Heart Surbeck Scholar Award, UCSF

Selected Publications

  1. Marisa LaFontaine, Adam Autry, Elizabeth Philips, Llewellyn Jalbert, Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Susan Chang, Yan Li NIMG-47. METABOLIC CHARACTERIZATION OF IDH MUTANT LOWER GRADE GLIOMA USING SPECTROSCOPIC IMAGING OPTIMIZED FOR 2-HYDROXYGLUTARATE DETECTION.  View on PubMed
  2. Adam Autry, Jeremy Gordon, Marisa LaFontaine, Hsin-Yu Chen, Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Susan Chang, Jennifer Clarke, Duan Xu, Janine Lupo, Peder Larson, Daniel Vigneron, Yan Li NIMG-50. INITIAL EXPERIENCE: DETECTION OF ABERRANT HYPERPOLARIZED [1-13C]PYRUVATE METABOLISM IN PATIENTS WITH GBM PRIOR TO RESECTION.  View on PubMed
  3. Pavithra Viswanath, Yan Li, Sabrina M. Ronen C-13 Hyperpolarized MR Spectroscopy for Metabolic Imaging of Brain Tumors.  View on PubMed
  4. Adam Autry, Jeremy Gordon, Hsin-Yu Chen, Marisa Lafontaine, Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Susan Chang, Duan Xu, Peder Larson, Daniel Vigneron, Yan Li CBMT-26. SERIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HYPERPOLARIZED [1-13C]PYRUVATE METABOLISM IN PATIENTS WITH GLIOMA AND THE INFLUENCE OF BEVACIZUMAB.  View on PubMed
  5. Adam Autry, Brian Chung, Hsin-Yu Chen, Jeremy Gordon, Marisa Lafontaine, Susan Chang, Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Peder Larson, Daniel Vigneron, Yan Li CBMT-36. INITIAL EXPERIENCE WITH HYPERPOLARIZED [2-13C]PYRUVATE MR IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH IDH-MUTANT GLIOMA.  View on PubMed
  6. Tracy Luks, Yan Li, Paula Alcaide-Leon, Marisa Lafontaine, Angela Jakary, Susan Chang, Javier Villanueva-Meyer NIMG-33. TUMOR GROWTH AND MRI TRAJECTORIES IN GRADE II AND III GLIOMA.  View on PubMed
  7. Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Adam Autry, Jeremy Gordon, Hsin-Yu Chen, Marisa Lafontaine, Susan Chang, Duan Xu, Peder Larson, Daniel Vigneron, Yan Li NIMG-57. SERIAL HYPERPOLARIZED 13C PYRUVATE AND 1H METABOLIC IMAGING IN RECURRENT HIGH-GRADE GLIOMA.  View on PubMed
  8. Adam Autry, Ilwoo Park, Hsin-Yu Chen, Jeremy Gordon, Cassie Kline-Nunnally, Daniel Vigneron, Janine Lupo, Yan Li, Duan Xu, Sabine Mueller DIPG-31. FEASIBILITY OF HYPERPOLARIZED 13C METABOLIC IMAGING IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH DIPG AND OTHER CNS CANCERS.  View on PubMed
  9. Adam Autry, Jeremy Gordon, Marisa Lafontaine, Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Daniel Vigneron, Susan Chang, Sarah Nelson, Yan Li NIMG-08. REPRODUCIBILITY OF HYPERPOLARIZED C-13 METABOLIC IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH GLIOMA.  View on PubMed
  10. Tracy Luks, Yan Li, Marisa Lafontaine, Angela Jakary, Gaurav Inamdar, Michael Wahl, Susan Chang, Sarah Nelson, Javier Villanueva-Meyer NIMG-24. DIFFUSION MRI PRECURSORS TO PROGRESSION IN GRADE II AND III GLIOMA.  View on PubMed
  11. Yan Li, Adam Autry, Jeremy Gordon, Jason Crane, Beck Olson, Marisa Lafontaine, Ilwoo Park, Javier Villanueva-Meyer, Daniel Vigneron, Susan Chang, Sarah Nelson NIMG-66. COMPARISON OF STEADY STATE AND DYNAMIC BRAIN METABOLISM BY USING 1H MRSI AND HYPERPOLARIZED [1-13C]PYRUVATE IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH GLIOMA.  View on PubMed
  12. Yan Li and Sarah J. Nelson Quantitative MRI of the Brain: Principles of Physical Measurement (by Mara Cercignani, Nicholas G. Dowell, Paul S. Tofts)  View on PubMed
  13. Li Y, Bian W, Larson P, Crane JC, Parvathaneni P, Nagarajan S, Nelson SJ Reliable and Reproducible GABA Measurements Using Automated Spectral Prescription at Ultra-High Field.  View on PubMed
  14. Li Y, Lafontaine M, Chang S, Nelson SJ Comparison between Short and Long Echo Time Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging at 3T and 7T for Evaluating Brain Metabolites in Patients with Glioma.  View on PubMed
  15. Bian W, Li Y, Crane JC, Nelson SJ Fully automated atlas-based method for prescribing 3D PRESS MR spectroscopic imaging: Toward robust and reproducible metabolite measurements in human brain.  View on PubMed
  16. Nelson SJ, Kadambi AK, Park I, Li Y, Crane J, Olson M, Molinaro A, Roy R, Butowski N, Cha S, Chang S Association of early changes in 1H MRSI parameters with survival for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma receiving a multimodality treatment regimen.  View on PubMed
  17. Nelson SJ, Li Y, Lupo JM, Olson M, Crane JC, Molinaro A, Roy R, Clarke J, Butowski N, Prados M, Cha S, Chang SM Serial analysis of 3D H-1 MRSI for patients with newly diagnosed GBM treated with combination therapy that includes bevacizumab.  View on PubMed
  18. Li Y, Jakary A, Gillung E, Eisendrath S, Nelson SJ, Mukherjee P, Luks T Evaluating metabolites in patients with major depressive disorder who received mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and healthy controls using short echo MRSI at 7 Tesla.  View on PubMed
  19. Wen Q, Jalilian L, Lupo JM, Li Y, Roy R, Molinaro AM, Chang SM, Prados M, Butowski N, Clarke J, Nelson SJ Association of Diffusion and Anatomic Imaging Parameters with Survival for Patients with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Participating in Two Different Clinical Trials.  View on PubMed
  20. Li Y, Park I, Nelson SJ Imaging tumor metabolism using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy.  View on PubMed

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